The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) urged Hutchison Ports to address the series of serious health and safety incidents across their global operations, as a dockworker is still in a critical condition after workplace collision at the company’s Port Botany terminal.
The 55-year-old dockworker, fell seven metres from her cabin to the concrete below. She remains in an induced coma in hospital after undergoing emergency brain surgery.
The ITF’s Executive Board met in London last week and passed a resolution “urging Hutchison Ports to address a pattern of serious health and safety incidents across their global operations.”
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Paddy Crumlin, ITF President and MUA National Secretary, said:
Reports that MUA officials were not allowed on site, and that Hutchison has failed its obligations under local laws due to a lack of consultation with Health and Safety Representatives in the lead-up to this tragic accident, are highly concerning.
ITF called Hutchison to correct its safety record and mitigate any further risk to its workforce.
Torben Seebold, Vice-Chair of the ITF Dockers’ Section and Maritime Coordinator in ver.di, noted:
This incident again demonstrates that dock work is still extremely dangerous work, that’s why the campaign for better safety is never ending.
